Laboratory safety program

About

Technology: Effectively building a campus-wide laboratory safety program requires accurate knowledge of the biological materials and hazardous chemicals used in the laboratories, coupled with methods to evaluate and control the risks associated with their use. In 2002, the University of Pittsburgh Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) initiated internal development of an enterprise solution designed to integrate investigator registration, protocol-specific risk assessment and the laboratory inspection program. The system utilizes an EHS registration workbook to gather information about investigators’ laboratories and the biological materials and hazardous chemicals in use. The workbook is a macro-enabled Microsoft (MS) Excel© spreadsheet that investigators download from the EHS website to complete. Following e-mail submittal to EHS, the workbook is imported into an MS Access© relational database used for storage, maintenance, distribution, and review of the registration information. The database also maintains a standard phrase table written by EHS for hazardous chemicals and biological agents. EHS utilizes the registration information and the phrase table to generate a risk assessment document for each Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocol. The risk assessment identifies the hazards associated with the project, the requirements for conducting the project safely, and medical surveillance and training requirements for all personnel on the project.  The database also generates an investigator-specific laboratory inspection checklist based on their submitted information, including biosafety levels and hazardous agent usage. This checklist is electronically downloaded to a handheld PC used during the lab inspection and reporting process. As of May 2005, EHS has received over 1,000 registration workbooks and has conducted inspections of more than 1,000 laboratories. Since January 2004, EHS has also prepared more than 600 risk assessments for IACUC protocols covering approximately 700 biological agents and hazardous chemicals. The integrated system has proven to be highly effective and efficient for collecting information on large numbers of laboratories and the inspection program has greatly improved awareness of EHS safety programs and policies. EHS has also found the risk assessment to be an excellent tool for communicating protocol-specific safety information to the investigator and affected laboratory and animal care staff, and ensuring compliance with medical surveillance and training requirements Advantages: 1) The use of electronic registration and database technology has been highly effective for developing a large laboratory safety program, by centralizing information, minimizing data entry time and maximizing efficiency. 2) The registration workbook and database have dramatically increased the ability of EHS to track investigator, laboratory and agent usage on campus, while simplifying the registration process for investigators. 3) The laboratory inspection program has substantially enhanced campus awareness of EHS safety programs and policies while also serving as a verification of registration information and compliance with University and Federal recommendations. 4) The EHS risk assessment has proven to be a novel mechanism to thoroughly evaluate the biological and chemical hazards associated with animal use and effectively communicate safety recommendations to impacted laboratory and animal care personnel.